Vehicular lamp

Abstract

A vehicular lamp is provided which can easily attach and detach a cover member and can prevent interference between an inner portion of the cover member and a wiring cord or the like. The vehicular lamp (100) includes: a light source unit (103); a housing (101) inside of which the light source unit (103) is disposed and which has a work hole (107) formed therein on a rear side thereof; and a cover member (1) detachably attached to the work hole (107) of the housing (101). The cover member (1) includes a cover main body (2) configured to close the work hole (107), a recess portion (3) formed by concaving an outer surface of the cover main body (2), and a protrusion portion (4) protruding from an inner surface of the cover main body (2) corresponding to the recess portion (3), and the protrusion portion (4) forms an inclined surface inclined in a diameter-expanding direction from an inner circumferential side toward an outer circumferential side of the cover main body (2) when the cover main body (2) is viewed in a cross-sectional view in an axial direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicular lamp.Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a known vehicular lamp in which a light source unit is disposed inside a lamp body composed of a housing having a front surface with an opening and a lens cover configured to cover the opening of the housing. In such a vehicular lamp, a work hole is provided on the rear surface of the housing, and a cover member is detachably attached to the work hole to seal the hole. Thus, it is possible to replace the light source unit and route wiring cord, and the like through the work hole (see, for example, JP2009-539213A (WO2007 / 141232A1) and JP2014-89877A).

[0003] Incidentally, the cover member described in JP2009-539213A has a plurality of claw portions serving as retainers for preventing the cover member from falling off the work hole, and the cover member can be rotated in a peripheral direction while the front face of the cover member is fit to the work hole, so that the cover member can be attached to the work hole.

[0004] However, in the cover member disclosed in JP2009-539213A, since there is no portion for gripping the cover member, it is difficult to rotate, and there is a problem that the attachment / detachment operation of the cover member becomes difficult unless a sufficient space is secured on the back surface side of the cover member.

[0005] On the other hand, the cover member described in JP2014-89877A has a configuration in which a desiccant is disposed inside the cover member. However, when the desiccant is disposed inside the cover member, the space for routing the wiring cord described above cannot be secured, and the wiring cord may interfere with the inside of the cover member.

[0006] DE 694 22 355 T2 discloses a casing for a motor vehicle lighting or signalling device, of the type closed by a cover lens and enclosing at least one bulb and one reflector, the wall of which casing adopts, in the region of an access opening, a substantially cylindrical shape, and which casing has a cover for closing this opening. The cover is formed by a semi-rigid material and comprises at least one annular skirt directed axially, which can be positioned against the said wall over an axially directed peripheral contact surface, the skirt having, over its entire circumferential extent, at least one lateral groove, while the wall comprises at least one boss of complementary shape.

[0007] KR 1998 0031091 U discloses a structure of an anti-vibration stopper handle of an automobile headlamp, and forms a handle-round groove on the outer surface of the anti-vibration stopper of the headlamp, and prevents slippage in the handle-round groove. By forming the roughness, the anti-vibration stopper of the headlamp is easily coupled to the headlamp housing with less force because it does not slip when holding and turning the anti-vibration stopper by hand. It has a stopper handle structure.

[0008] KR 2013 0134543 A relates to a dust cover of head lamp for an automobile. The dust cover is coupled to protect a connector of a valve and to prevent dust or foreign materials from flowing in to the inside of a lamp housing. Multiple handle groove units are formed into the inner side of edges within the scope of height and diameter of a rear projecting unit of a cover body so as not to be interfered with the connector of the valve, such that space around the lamp housing of the engine room can be secured. Thus, the handle groove unit does not project at the rear projecting unit, and thereby, the width of the cover body is reduced to be narrow.Summary

[0009] The present invention was devised in view of these and other problems and features in association with the conventional art. According to the present invention, there can be provided a vehicular lamp which can easily attach and detach a cover member and can prevent interference between an inner portion of the cover member and a wiring cord or the like.

[0010] According to the present invention, a vehicular lamp is provided as set forth in claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the present invention may be gathered from the dependent claims.

[0011] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicular lamp capable of allowing one to easily perform the attaching / detaching operation of the cover member and of preventing interference between the inside of the cover member and the wiring cord.Brief Description of Drawings

[0012] These and other characteristics, features, and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a vehicular lamp provided with a cover member according to an embodiment made in accordance with principles of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cover member shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the outer surface side; and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cover member shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the inner surface side. Description of Exemplary Embodiments

[0013] A description will now be made below to a vehicular lamp of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in accordance with exemplary embodiments.

[0014] In the drawings used in the following description, in order to make each component easy to see, the scale of the dimension may be shown differently depending on the component, and the dimensional ratio of each component is not necessarily the same as the actual ratio.

[0015] As one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a vehicular lamp 100 having a cover member 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, for example, will be described.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of a vehicular lamp 100 including a cover member 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cover member 1 as viewed from the outer surface side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cover member 1 as viewed from the inner surface side.

[0017] In the drawings shown below, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set, and the X-axis direction is indicated as the front-rear direction (length direction) of the vehicular lamp 100, the Y-axis direction is indicated as the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicular lamp 100, and the Z-axis direction is indicated as the vertical direction (height direction) of the vehicular lamp 100.

[0018] In the vehicular lamp 1 of the present exemplary embodiment, for example, the present invention is applied to a vehicular headlamp to be mounted on both corner portions on the front end side of a vehicle body (not shown).

[0019] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicular lamp 100 has a structure in which a light source unit 103 configured to project light toward the front of the vehicle body (+ X-axis direction) is disposed inside a lamp body 102 composed of a housing 101 having a front surface with an opening and a transparent lens cover (not shown) covering the opening of the housing 101.

[0020] The light source unit 103 may adopt a light-emitting diode (LED) that emits white light as a light source (not shown). In the light source unit 103, a mounting board (not shown) on which LEDs are mounted and a circuit board (not shown) on which a driving circuit for driving LEDs is provided are separately disposed inside the lamp body 102, and these mounting board and circuit board are electrically connected via wiring cords 104a and 104b, thereby protecting the driving circuit from heat generated by the LEDs.

[0021] In the light source unit 103, a plug 105 attached to the wiring cord 104a on the mounting board side is inserted into a socket 106 attached to the wiring cord 104b on the circuit board side, thereby electrically connecting the mounting board and the circuit board.

[0022] In the vehicular lamp 100 of the present exemplary embodiment, the plug 105 is inserted into the socket 106 through a substantially circular work hole 107 provided on the rear surface side of the housing 101.

[0023] The vehicular lamp 100 of the present exemplary embodiment includes a cover member 1 detachably attached to the work hole 107 in order to seal the work hole 107 after the plug 105 has been inserted into the socket 106.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover member 1 has a cover main body 2, a plurality of (three in this embodiment) recess portions 3 in which the outer surface of the cover main body 2 is recessed, and a plurality of (three in this embodiment) protrusion portions 4 projecting from the inner surface of the cover main body 2 corresponding to the respective recess portions 3.

[0025] The cover main body 2 is made of, for example, a molded body of a synthetic resin, and has a cap shape for closing the work hole 107. More specifically, the cover main body 2 includes a top wall portion 2a facing the work hole 107, a peripheral wall portion 2b surrounding the periphery of the top wall portion 2a, a flange portion 2c projected radially from the periphery of the peripheral wall portion 2b, and a front cylindrical portion 2d positioned forward of the flange portion 2c of the peripheral wall portion 2b (on the front surface side) and fitted into the work hole 107.

[0026] A plurality of claw portions 5 (three in this embodiment) are provided around the front cylindrical portion 2d so as to project outward. The plurality of claw portions 5 are provided as a fall-off and circumferential retainer for the work hole 107, which will be described later, and are arranged side by side at certain intervals (equally spaced in this embodiment) in the circumferential direction of the front cylindrical portion 2d. The positions and the lengths of the claw portions 5 in the circumferential direction are set in accordance with a plurality of notches (not shown) provided around the work hole 107.

[0027] The plurality of recess portions 3 are provided as gripping portions that allow one to grip the cover member 1, and are arranged on the outer surface of the peripheral wall portion 2b side by side in a circumferential direction at certain intervals (equally spaced in this embodiment) on the peripheral wall portion 2b. The position of each recess portion 3 coincides with the position of each claw portion 5 in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 2b.

[0028] Each recess portion 3 forms a concave surface curved from the outer circumferential side of the cover main body to the inner circumferential side when viewing the outer surface of the cover main body 2 in plan view. Each recess portion 3 also forms an inclined surface inclined in the diameter-expanding direction from the inner circumferential side to the outer circumferential side of the cover main body when the cover main body 2 is viewed in cross section in the axial direction (X-axis direction).

[0029] Knurled projections 6 that serve as anti-slip projections are provided on the surfaces of the respective recess portions 3 in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 2b. In addition, a pair of rib walls 7 are provided so as to protrude from both sides of the circumferential wall portion 2b sandwiching each of the recess portions 3.

[0030] The plurality of protrusion portions 4 are portions projecting toward the inside of the cover main body 2 from positions corresponding to the respective recess portions 3, and have a shape reflecting the respective recess portions 3. That is, the plurality of protrusion portions 4 are provided on the inner surface of the peripheral wall portion 2b so as to be arranged side by side at certain intervals (equally spaced in this embodiment) in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 2b.

[0031] Each protrusion portion 4 forms a convex surface curved from the outer circumferential side of the cover main body to the inner circumferential side when viewing the inner surface of the cover main body 2 in plan view. Each protrusion portion 4 forms an inclined surface inclined in the diameter-expanding direction from the inner circumferential side to the outer circumferential side of the cover main body when the cover main body 2 is viewed in cross section in the axial direction.

[0032] When the cover member 1 having the above-described configuration is mounted onto the work hole 107, the cover main body 2 is rotated by a predetermined angle on one side (right turn) in the circumferential direction while the cover member 1 is fit into the work hole 107 in the front cylindrical portion 2d with an O-ring (packing) 108 mounted around the front cylindrical portion 2d, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0033] At this time, the cover main body 2 is rotated to one side in the circumferential direction (clockwise) from the state in which the plurality of claw portions 5 are entering through the plurality of notches formed around the work hole 107, whereby the plurality of claw portions are stopped and retained to the work hole 107. Thus, the cover member 1 can be attached to the work hole 107.

[0034] On the other hand, the cover main body 2 is operated by a reverse operation relative to the above-described operation of attaching the cover member 1, that is, is rotated by a predetermined angle to the other side in the circumferential direction (counterclockwise) from a state in which the cover member 1 is attached to the work hole 107. Thus, the cover member 1 can be removed from the work hole 107 by matching the positions of the notches and the claw portions 5.

[0035] In the vehicular lamp 100 of the present exemplary embodiment, the cover member 1 can be easily grasped and rotated by providing a plurality of recess portions 3 (gripping portions) on the outer surface of the cover main body 2. As a result, it is possible to easily perform the attaching and detaching operation of the cover member 1 without securing a sufficient space on the rear surface side of the cover member 1.

[0036] In the vehicular lamp 100 of the present exemplary embodiment, the plurality of protrusion portions 4 projecting from the inner surface of the cover main body 2 form an inclined surface inclined in the diameter-expanding direction from the inner circumferential side toward the outer circumferential side of the cover main body 2. As a result, it is possible to prevent the wiring cords 104a and 104b from interfering with the protrusion portions 4 (inside the cover member 1) while a space for routing the wiring cords 104a and 104b is secured in the inside of the cover main body 2 (cover member 1) described above.

[0037] In recent years, particularly in a variable light distribution headlamp (ADB: Adaptive Driving Beam) for variably controlling the light distribution of the high beam light distribution pattern by arranging light emitting elements such as LEDs side by side and switching the lighting states of the light emitting elements, the number of wiring codes tends to increase, and therefore, it is particularly useful to adopt the cover member 1 of the present exemplary embodiment.

[0038] As described above, in the vehicular lamp 100 of the present exemplary embodiment, the attachment / detachment operation of the cover member 1 can be easily performed, and it is possible to prevent the wiring cords 104a and 104b from being damaged or the like while preventing the interference or the like between the inside of the cover member 1 and the wiring cords 104a and 104b.

[0039] The present invention is not necessarily limited to the exemplary embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made thereon without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0040] For example, in the exemplary embodiment described above, the case where the present invention is applied to a headlamp for a vehicle has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to vehicular lamps to be disposed on the front side described above, but can also be applied to rear side vehicular lamps such as a rear combination lamp.

[0041] In the light source unit 103, for example, a halogen lamp, an HID lamp, a laser diode (LD), or the like can be adopted in addition to the LED as the light source. The color of the light emitted by the light source is not limited to white light described above, and may be appropriately changed according to the use application of the light source, such as red light or orange light (amber light).

Claims

1. A vehicular lamp comprising: a light source unit (103); a housing (101) inside of which the light source unit (103) is disposed and which has a work hole (107) formed therein on a rear side thereof; and a cover member (1) detachably attached to the work hole (107) of the housing (101), wherein the cover member (1) includes a cover main body (2) configured to close the work hole (107), wherein the cover main body (2) has a top wall portion (2a) facing the work hole (107), a peripheral wall portion (2b) surrounding a periphery of the top wall portion (2a), and a flange portion (2c) protruding from the periphery of the peripheral wall portion (2b) in a diameter-expanding direction; wherein a plurality of recess portions (3) formed by concaving an outer surface of the cover main body (2) is provided in the periphery of the top wall portion (2a), wherein a plurality of protrusion portions (4) protruding toward the inside of and from an inner surface of the cover main body (2) are formed corresponding to the recess portions (3) in the periphery of the top wall portion (2a), and wherein the protrusion portion (4) forms a convex surface curved from the outer circumferential side toward the inner circumferential side of the cover main body (2) when the inner surface of the cover main body (2) is viewed in plan view, said convex surface being an inclined surface inclined diagonally from the top wall portion (2a) to the flange portion (2c) in a diameter-expanding direction from an inner circumferential side toward an outer circumferential side of the cover main body (2) when the cover main body (2) is viewed in a cross-sectional view along an axial direction, so as to prevent wiring cords (104a, 104b) from interfering with the protrusion portions (4) while a space for routing the wiring cords (104a, 104b) is secured inside of the cover main body (2).

2. The vehicular lamp according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of the recess portions (3) and corresponding protrusion portions (4) are arranged side by side at certain intervals in a circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion (2b).

3. The vehicular lamp according to claim 2, wherein the recess portion (3) is a gripping portion that allows one to grip the cover member (1).

4. The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cover main body (2) includes a front cylindrical portion (2d) positioned forward of the flange portion (2c) of the peripheral wall portion (2b) and fitted into the work hole (107), and a plurality of claw portions (5) are provided circumferentially side by side on the periphery of the front cylindrical portion (2d).

5. The vehicular lamp according to claim 4, wherein the housing (101) includes a plurality of notches provided around the work hole (107) corresponding to the plurality of claw portions (5).

6. The vehicular lamp according to claim 5, wherein the claw portions (5) and the notches serve as retainers and stoppers when the cover member (1) is detachably attached to the work hole (107) and rotated by a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction.

7. The vehicular lamp according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the light source unit (103) includes a light-emitting element, a mounting board on which the light-emitting element is mounted, a circuit board on which a driving circuit for driving the light-emitting element is provided, and wiring cords (104a, 104b) for electrically connecting the mounting board and the circuit board, the wiring cords (104a, 104b) include a plug (105) and a socket (106), respectively, to be electrically connected with each other.

8. The vehicular lamp according to claim 7, wherein the wiring cords (104a, 104b) are located in a space inside the work hole (107) and near the top wall portion (2a) of the cover member (1) attached to the housing (101).

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